A flight control computer (FCC) may implement automatic rotor tilt control by gathering or receiving, as inputs, airspeed or a commanded airspeed for the aircraft, acceleration or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft, pitch attitude of the aircraft and pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft, a rotor tilt angle, and/or the like. The FCC calculates, from the airspeed, the commanded airspeed, the acceleration, the commanded acceleration, the pitch attitude, the pilot pitch bias commands, and/or the like, a commanded rotor tilt angle for the aircraft. From the aircraft rotor tilt angle and the commanded rotor tilt angle, the FCC calculates a rotor tilt angle error for the aircraft, and from the rotor tilt angle error, calculates a rotor tilt rate command for the aircraft. The FCC outputs the resulting rotor tilt rate command to (an) aircraft flight control element actuator(s) to tilt the aircraft rotor.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the aircraft is a tiltrotor aircraft and the mode is a vertical take-off and landing mode, conversion mode, or a cruise mode and the inputs selected in vertical take-off and landing mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft, pitch attitude of the aircraft and pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft, and the inputs selected in cruise mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the mode is the vertical take-off and landing mode, and the pitch attitude is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft level during hover.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the mode is the vertical take-off and landing mode, and the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft are used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft according to the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft during hover.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the mode is vertical take-off and landing mode, conversion mode, or a cruise mode and the airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the rotor comprises a tilting rotating thrust device.
10. The aircraft flight control system of claim 9, wherein the aircraft is a tiltrotor aircraft and the mode is a vertical take-off and landing mode, conversion mode, or a cruise mode and the inputs selected in vertical take-off and landing mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft, pitch attitude of the aircraft and pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft, and the inputs selected in cruise mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft.
11. The aircraft flight control system of claim 9, wherein the mode is the vertical take-off and landing mode, and the pitch attitude is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft level during hover.
12. The aircraft flight control system of claim 9, wherein the mode is vertical take-off and landing mode, conversion mode, or cruise mode and the airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle.
13. The aircraft flight control system of claim 9, wherein the mode is the vertical take-off and landing mode, and the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft are used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft according to the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft during hover.
16. The tiltrotor aircraft of claim 15, wherein the aircraft is a tiltrotor aircraft and the mode is a vertical take-off and landing mode, conversion mode, or a cruise mode and the inputs selected in vertical take-off and landing mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft, pitch attitude of the aircraft and pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft, and the inputs selected in cruise mode are airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or a commanded acceleration for the aircraft.
17. The tiltrotor aircraft of claim 15, wherein, when the tiltrotor aircraft is in the vertical take-off and landing mode the pitch attitude is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft level during hover.
18. The tiltrotor aircraft of claim 15, wherein, when the tiltrotor aircraft is in the cruise mode, the airspeed of the aircraft or the commanded airspeed for the aircraft and acceleration of the aircraft or the commanded acceleration for the aircraft is used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle.
19. The tiltrotor aircraft of claim 15, wherein, when the tiltrotor aircraft is in the vertical take-off and landing mode, the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft are used to calculate the commanded rotor tilt angle to maintain a deck of the aircraft according to the pilot pitch bias commands for the aircraft during hover.
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December 23, 2021
June 18, 2024
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